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Browner Resignation, Obama Omission Could Spell the End of Global Warming Policy, Say Climate Change Analysts
CNS News.com 28 January 2011 by Matt Cover
The abrupt resignation of Carol Browner, President Barack Obama's global warming czar, and the omission by Obama of global warming from his State of the Union speech on Tuesday could mean that the White House has given up on global warming, according to climate change analysts.
Browner, who announced her resignation Tuesday, led the White House effort to enact global warming legislation and policy. A former director of the Environmental Protection Agency during the Clinton administration, Browner was well regarded in the environmentalist community and served officially as director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy.
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Obama left out any reference to global warming or the more ambiguously named climate change, seemingly abandoning what had been one of the most prominent policy areas of the past two years.
Browner's signature legislative goal – cap and trade legislation – failed in Congress last year when it was not brought up for a vote in the Senate after narrowly passing in the House.
Most recently, Browner was rumored to be in the running to replace Rahm Emanuel as White House chief of staff. Instead of Browner, Obama chose former J.P Morgan Chase executive William Daley.
ClimateDepot.com proprietor Marc Morano told CNSNews.com that Browner's departure was likely a sign of frustration with Obama and the president's lack of attention to her signature issues.
"She's probably frustrated with Obama's lack of commitment on this issue," Morano said. "I think Carol Browner is frustrated because she realizes Obama is not the man she thought he was when it comes to global warming."
"Obama is terrified of the issue – it's never been more than a check-box issue for him – so she was basically reduced to not doing that much of anything and she realized that nothing was going to happen," he said.
Morano also said that Browner probably read the writing on the wall following the November election that swept a wave of conservative Republicans into Congress, effectively making any new environmental legislation all but impossible.
"I think she realizes that her hands may be tied," Morano said. "She [probably] doesn't feel like she can be as effective as she wants to. She is a hardcore, committed greenie [environmentalist]."
Morano said that Obama's omission of global warming from his State of the Union indicated that he would be "running" away from the issue in 2012 because it has become politically unpopular.
"Browner doesn't want to be in a position where she's going to be open to a lot of shots especially with the new Republican House and not be able to do what she wants to do because Obama's going to be focused on reelection and running terrified of the man-made global warming issue," said Morano.
"The new political expediency is skepticism," he said. "Man-made global warming is the new butt of jokes in Washington."
Myron Ebell, director of Energy and Global Warming Policy at the free-market Competitive Enterprise Institute, said it was "hard to say" why Browner left, citing her rumored loss of the chief of staff position.
Ebell said that her departure and Obama's omitting global warming from his speech may indicate that the administration was merely putting global warming policy on the back burner, preferring a stealthier approach.
"It may be that the White House decided, well, we're off global warming and she's the point person on global warming so she no longer has a role here," he said.
"Remember that when Obama acknowledged this fall that cap and trade was not going to be enacted he said that – and this is pretty close to an exact quote – that there's more than one way to skin that cat," said Ebell. "And I think what they're doing is they are adopting a lower-profile policy, a set of policies, to achieve the same goals without ever mentioning global warming or cap and trade or anything that will allow us to refer back to candidate Obama's comment when he was senator [to the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle] that 'under my cap and trade plan electric rates will necessarily skyrocket.'"
"They still want that, they just want to achieve it in a way that the public will have a much harder time seeing and therefore opposing," said Ebell.


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(This is the last post in a two-part series on this topic. You can see Part One here.)
This week's question is:
What are the Dos and Don'ts of having a successful one-to-one computing (where every student at a school gets a device) program?
In Part One of this series, Alice Barr, Mark Pullen and Troy Hicks shared their responses. Today's contributors include Richard Byrne, Nancy Frey, Doug Fisher and Ben Stern, along with comments from readers.
You might also be interested in a ten-minute podcast conversation I had with Alice and Troy on this same topic.
Response From Richard Byrne
Richard Byrne is a former high school social studies. He is now a full-time writer and digital learning consultant. He's best known in the educational technology community for his award-winning blog FreeTech4Teachers.com:
My first experience using laptops on a 1:1 basis was in the 2006. Since then I've learned a lot about using laptops and later mobile devices on a 1:1 basis. Here are six things to keep in mind when using laptops, iPads, or other devices on a 1:1 basis.
1. Place all of the blame for distracted students on the laptop or iPad. Simply putting the technology in front of students isn't going to engage them in your lesson. While there is some level of novelty to using an iPad in an adult's mind, there is almost no novelty to it for a twelve year old. If your students aren't engaged in your lesson, evaluate your lesson. If your lesson wasn't engaging without a computer or iPad, don't assume that adding a computer or iPad into the mix will make your lesson engaging.
2. Count on things running perfectly every time you use laptops or iPads in your classroom. Have a Plan B and Plan C.
3. Assume that just because your students have grown up in the age of the iPad that they know how to use it for educational purposes. Your role is to facilitate using iPads or using laptops for educational purposes.
1. Try lots of apps and sites so that you can give students options when Plan A doesn't go as planned.
2. Have students use their laptops or iPads to create videos, podcasts, and animations to demonstrate their knowledge of a topic. Have them create things that they couldn't have made without their laptops or iPads. There is a place for practice and review games. But if playing games is all your students are doing with their laptops or iPads, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to really engage your students.
3. Ask your students to help you learn about new apps and sites. Let them look for new apps and new sites that are related to your content area. Ask them to show you how to complete a tricky edit in video editor. Or ask them to show you how to write a line of HTML. It is a memorable moment for a young person to be able to teach the teacher. I still remember how good I felt when I was able to teach my sixth grade teacher how to build a simple animation in LOGO.
Response From Nancy Frey and Doug Fisher
Nancy Frey and Doug Fisher are teacher leaders at Health Sciences High in San Diego, CA, and the authors of Teaching with tablets: How do I integrate tablets with effective instruction? (ASCD, 2013):
If you are lucky enough to have an Internet connected device for every student, don't make the mistake (that we've seen in districts all over the U.S.) and assume that they will only be used for individual work. Far too often, tablets and laptops become worksheets with batteries.
Instead, provide teachers and students with examples of the ways in which they can use the device in a variety of instructional contexts. We think that the devices are great for implementing the gradual release of responsibility instructional framework. For example:
During modeling, teacher Jeff Lim uses the app Notability to project notes, as they are being written, and invites students to use the app Catch to capture images and record their own thinking, as the teacher shares his.
During guided instruction, in which questions, prompts and cues are used to build students' understanding, Marla Ramirez uses the ShowMe app to create presentation slideshows with embedded pictures, videos, polls, Q&As, and quizzes. Students can pace the slide presentation and activities on their student devices, slowing down when they need more support or speeding up when they don't. Another presentation app, Nearpod, offers analytics on student activity within the app that teachers can review in real time, or use to generate session reports at a later time.
During collaborative learning, teacher Tasha Williams uses PrimaryPad, a web-based, real-time collaborative tool that allows several users at time to work on the same document. During their collaborative learning time, students in Ms. Williams's class can work together making sure that their products reflect the thinking of the entire group. Ms. Williams can monitor the contributions of each member of the group because contributions are color coded by user.
We have highlighted a few examples of the vast capabilities of tablets and laptops to facilitate students' learning. The major learning we have had from our experimentation with 1:1 computing has been to ensure that these devices are not a novelty and that they are integrated into high quality instruction rather than relegated to independent practice.
Response From Ben Stern
Ben Stern is the Academic Liaison for Ponder and the author of EduMusings. He was previously a history teacher and educational technology coordinator for schools in Houston and NYC:
One-to-one programs always reflect the planning and preparation that went into them. Too often, schools focus on superficial issues like hardware choices and different payment solutions for the devices. They ignore more difficult and important issues that are central to the success of the initiative. In my experience, schools should consider four main issues:
1) Teacher buy-in - if teachers don't see value in technology in the classroom, these expensive devices will never get used. It's not worth having a one-to-one program unless teachers think it's a good idea. Effectively structured PD that combines practical "do tomorrow" examples of educational technology coupled with a sustained discussion on how certain uses of technology can improve teaching and learning typically leads to buy-in. Oh, and get the teachers a nice device. It'll buy a lot of goodwill to start out.
2) Curriculum development - teachers who are sold on the idea of one-to-one will use the devices, but they will only use them effectively if their curriculum is designed to take advantage of the power to create, connect, and collaborate that technology affords students. Part of the PD pre-rollout should focus on PD. Get teachers a day off and buy them lunch while they plan it. They need time.
3) Student readiness - no matter how much we celebrate our digital natives, we cannot take for granted that they know how to use the devices for academic purposes. Digital natives are great at finding social uses for new technologies. They don't instinctually think of the technology as a professional tool, however. Schools need to reorient students' perception of technology by setting clear expectations and restricting usage initially, while a culture of effective use builds. Then, students can be let loose to fully exploit technology's power.
4) Network infrastructure - if the devices can't access the internet, they're basically useless. A robust wireless network is absolutely essential to a successful program. Make sure IT puts in more than enough access points and configures them properly. This will make or break your program.
If schools take these four recommendations seriously, they are likely to lay a solid foundation upon which their one-to-one program can grow. New and amazing uses of technology will emerge through continual PD and sharing among teachers and students. But without proper buy-in, curriculum development, training, and IT support, it will just be an expensive mistake.
Responses From Readers
Some readers sent-in comments via Twitter. I've used Storify to collect them:
Thanks to Richard, Nancy, Doug and Ben, and to readers, for their contributions!
Please feel free to leave a comment your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.
Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at email@example.com you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind. You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo.
Anyone whose question is selected for weekly column can choose one free book from a number of education publishers. I'll be highlighting one particular publisher every two months, and it's Routledge's turn now.
Just a reminder -- you can subscribe to blog for free via RSS Reader or email.... And,if you missed any of the highlights from the first two years of blog, you can see a categorized list of them here. You won't see posts from school year in those compilations, but you can review those new ones by clicking in the monthly archives link on blog's sidebar.
You can also see annual lists of my most popular posts.
Education Week has published a collection of posts from blog -- along with new material -- in an ebook form. It's titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching.
Last, but not least, I've recently begun recording a weekly eight-minute BAM! Radio podcast with educators who provide guest responses to questions. You can listen and/or download them here.
I'll be posting the next "question-of-the-week" in a few of days....

subset: commoncrawl


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SMU Art History Professor Greg Warden Honored By President Of Italy
SMU's Greg Warden receives the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity and title of Cavaliere from the Italian Republic.
DALLAS (SMU) — Dr. P. Gregory Warden, University Distinguished Professor of Art History and associate dean for academic affairs in SMU's Meadows School of the Arts, received the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity and the title of Cavaliere (knight) in the name of the President of the Italian Republic on June 4. The award was presented by Fabrizio Nava, the Consul General of Italy in Houston, at the Italian Club of Dallas as part of a ceremony celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Italian Republic on June 2 and the 150th anniversary of the Unity of Italy that was proclaimed on March 17, 1861.
The Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity was instituted in 1947 to recognize the achievements of those Italians and foreigners who had played a distinguished role in the reconstruction of Italy after World War II. It is now bestowed upon Italians and foreign nationals who have provided a meaningful contribution to the prestige of Italy while promoting friendly relations and cooperation between Italy and other countries.
In presenting the award on behalf of the President of the Italian Republic, Consul General Nava said, "Dr. Warden's work in promoting the studies of Italian culture at Southern Methodist University contributed greatly to the success of the program 'SMU-in-Italy.' His projects of excavation in Italy have served greatly to advance the knowledge of the Etruscan people in the United States. He is indeed a great scholar in this field and an important ambassador of the Italian culture in this country."
Dr. Warden, a native of Italy, is co-director of the Mugello Valley Archaelogical Project, an SMU-sponsored archaeological excavation at the Etruscan site of Poggio Colla, about 20 miles northeast of Florence. The site, first excavated from 1968 to 1972 by an Italian archaeology official, was reopened by Dr. Warden in 1995. He also established and oversees the Poggio Colla Field School, which brings university students from around the world to the site for six weeks each summer to conduct research. In 2009, Dr. Warden helped organize an exhibition of Etruscan art at SMU's Meadows Museum, including findings from the Poggio Colla dig. It was the most comprehensive exhibition of Etruscan art ever undertaken in the United States.
Warden joined the art history faculty at SMU in 1982 and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on Etruscan and Roman art and archaeology, as well as introductory courses on the history of architecture. He was director of the SMU-in-Italy summer program in Florence, Orvieto and Rome from 1987 to 1998. He also chaired the Art History Division for six years, and has served as associate dean for academic affairs at the Meadows School since 1998. He has received multiple teaching awards, including a Rotunda Award for outstanding teaching from the SMU student body in 1985-6. He was named the 1996-97 Meadows Foundation Distinguished Teaching Professor and, in 2008, he was honored with the title University Distinguished Professor of Art History.
Related Links:
- Art & Seek (KERA): North Texas Has A New Knight: An Italian One, This Time
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With a theme of "Sea You at the Fair," this year's Nevada County Fair is happening August 9 – 13 at the tree-covered Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley. The Nevada County Fair features five days of fun for Fair-goers of all ages, and is the perfect opportunity to listen to ongoing musical entertainment, eat delicious food, enjoy carnival rides and games, visit barns full of animals, and see thousands of exhibits – all in a community-friendly environment.
New this year is the Stingray Encounter, where Fair-goers can view, touch and learn about stingrays; the Beachcomber Area, which features a giant sandbox; a Bubble Gum Blow Off and a Frozen T-Shirt Challenge in the Special Events Tent; several robotics displays; and Michael Mesmer's "Strange Magic," featuring optical illusions and magic. Check out the livestock obstacle courses, the hay bucking contest, horse and stock dog demonstrations, and the small animal costume contests.
In the arena, Wednesday and Thursday night is the Flying U Extreme Rodeo; Friday and Saturday night features Tuff Trucks and Monster Trucks; and Sunday night is the popular Destruction Derby. All arena events begin at 7 pm.
Enjoy ongoing, musical entertainment at one of the two outdoor stages featuring more than 25 musicians and bands during the Fair. Enjoy rock and roll, traditional country, reggae, classic rock, Chicago blues, and West Coast blues. Or, check out the tribute bands – The Rhythm Vandals (Santana Tribute) and Starpeople (a tribute to the Rolling Stones).
Enter one of the special contests for adults and kids held daily in the Special Events tent. There's a Bubble Gum Blow Off, a Frozen Shirt Challenge, Jell-O Eating Contest, Duct Tape Art Challenge, Live Art Battle, "Minute to Win It" fun, squash mobile races, and nightly karaoke. No pre-registration required – just show up and have fun.
A visit to the Fair wouldn't be complete without a visit to Treat Street. It is here that you'll find an array of delicious foods and drinks – pasties, tacos, corn on the cob, beer, pulled pork sandwiches, baked potatoes, nachos, hamburgers, corn dogs, caramel corn, and more. When you eat on Treat Street, you are supporting local nonprofit organizations.
Tickets are on sale now. To purchase tickets, visit here or you can purchase your tickets at the gate.
The Nevada County Fairgrounds is located at 11228 McCourtney Road in Grass Valley. For a list of daily activities, event details, tickets, or general information, visit here or call (530) 273-6217.


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It has come to my attention that some readers of A Fine Dessert have found the depiction of slavery troubling.
Every reader is entitled to their response and I don't expect to say anything which will change those concerns. I would, however, like to explain the choices I made so that a newcomer to the book might not be deterred from reading it and so that they may come to their own conclusion.
Here are some of the objections I read in the comments section of the Horn Book blog, Calling Caldecott.
"Based on the illustrations, there are too many implications that should make us as adults squirm about what we might be telling children about slavery:
1) That slave families were intact and allowed to stay together.
2) Based on the smiling faces of the young girl…that being enslaved is fun and or pleasurable.
3) That to disobey as a slave was [a] fun… moment of whimsy rather than a dangerous act that could provoke severe and painful physical punishment"
1) At the risk of sounding exactly as the writer of one comment predicted, ("But we included something hard! But I researched slavery!"), evidence shows that many mothers were able to keep their children nearby, usually because it suited the plantation owners to increase their workforce. Historian Michael Tadman estimated that one third of enslaved children in the Southern States experienced family separation, which suggests that two thirds did not. Jennifer Hallam writes, in Slavery and the Making of America, "The bond between an enslaved mother and daughter was the least likely to be disturbed through sale." This does not imply that those relationships were not constantly under threat. But it seemed reasonable that we might show a mother and daughter working together. I believe the author, Emily Jenkins came to the same conclusion. There is no father to be seen.
By showing an enslaved mother and daughter together, it is certainly a more positive portrayal of slavery than showing them wrenched apart. But it is not inaccurate. And the book is about different families making blackberry fool over four centuries.
2) I thought long and hard about these smiles.
In the first scene, the mother and girl are picking blackberries. I imagined this as a rare moment where they were engaged in a task together, out of doors, away from the house and supervision, where the mother is talking to her child. It is a tender moment, but the mother is not smiling. The girl has a gentle smile. She is, in this moment, not unhappy. I believe oppressed people throughout history have found solace and even joy in small moments.
click to enlarge |
The second smile comes as the girl completes her task of whipping the cream. It's hard work, which we see in the middle frame, and the smile was intended to convey pride in completing the task. She looks up to someone, presumably her mother, as if to say, "I did it!"
click to enlarge |
In the next spread, the girl smiles timidly as she enjoys licking the spoon, but looks fearful as she descends the basement stairs.
click to enlarge |
I have shown isolated moments of their day which may appear pleasurable, but I don't think I have made slavery out to seem pleasurable or fun. As another commenter wrote, "Why shouldn't a child and her mother, no matter where they are in the world or what their circumstances, share love and a smile in the course of their day? No matter how trying, inhumane or unacceptable the circumstances. Love is the most triumphant of emotions, bringing us through unspeakable trials and ordeals."
click to enlarge |
3) The act of having to hide in the cupboard to lick the scrapings from the bowl is the thing children have responded to most viscerally. They are horrified at how unfair it is. There is nothing whimsical about hiding in the cupboard. It conveys a complete lack of freedom.
Emily Jenkins says in her author's note: "This story includes characters who are slaves, even though there is by no means space to explore the topic of slavery fully. I wanted to represent American life in 1810 without ignoring that part of our history. I wrote about people finding joy in craftsmanship and dessert even within lives of great hardship and injustice – because finding that joy shows something powerful about the human spirit. Slavery is a difficult truth. At the end of the book, children can see a hopeful, inclusive community." I would add that this is a book for young children. It introduces issues of slavery in the context of a wider history. It is not intended to be the only story children will read. It does not fully depict the horrors of slavery, but I don't think such a depiction would be appropriate for this particular age group.
The way we look at pictures is incredibly complicated. I cannot ensure my images will be read the way I intended, I can only approach each illustration with as much research, thoughtfulness, empathy and imagination as I can muster.
Reading the negative comments, I wonder whether the only way to avoid offense would have been to leave slavery out altogether, but sharing this book in school visits has been an extraordinary experience and the positive responses from teachers and librarians and parents have been overwhelming. I learn from every book I make, and from discussions like these. I hope A Fine Dessert continues to engage readers and encourage rewarding, thought provoking discussions between children and their grown ups.
This blog has been edited to add the following:
It seems that very few people commenting on the issue of slavery in A Fine Dessert have read the actual book. The section which takes place in 1810 is part of a whole, which explores the history of women in the kitchen and the development of food technology amongst other things. A Fine Dessert culminates in 2010 with the scene of a joyous, diverse, inclusive community feast. I urge you to read the whole book. Thank you.


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Here's one more way to do the new topstring-thing. I call it the Cherokee.
For the Cherokee Topstring, start by securing the outside diamond of the head like we've done before. Take a 5.5 foot piece of string and fold it in half, and start at the halfway spot. Next, though, go up a hole or two and start through the same hole, twisting your topstring until you get about even with the outer leather hole, and the second mesh hole. Go up and do a hitch knot on both, the sprial around the string you came up with, much like a turtle shell twist.
When you meet back in the middle, twist it tightly, and continue across the head. You'll want to hit every other mesh hole, and every leather hole. I twisted the string about 4-5 times between each vertical twist, so whatever you choose, just keep it even.
When you get to the far side of the head, go out the opposite hole you started in. Go down a couple holes and go back in, securing the mesh to the side of your stick.
When you're done, all your mesh-to-plastic vertical things should go up and down, and the connector pieces shouldn't look like a zig-zag. But anywho, give this a shot, and post what you come up with. I saw a goalie head recently with the Huron topstring, and the stick doctor that plays with it says it works wonders. So stay tuned, we'll be bringing you that soon! I'll be out for a week or so, so if I don't answer any questions right away, don't hate. I'll be on a boat.
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Some of the most frequently quoted verses in
Evangelicalism are Matthew 28:18-20:
"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to
Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
"teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen."
The Great Commission
calls for making disciples rather than preaching the Gospel. (The same command
in Mark 16:15 says "…preach the gospel….") It is probably for this reason
most Christians assume incorrectly that preaching the Gospel fulfills Matthew
28:18-20, but it does not. Preaching the Gospel and making disciples are two
entirely different (though related) things. Billy Graham, and others, have
illustrated very well that there is a huge difference between these two ideas.
Preaching the Gospel is relatively easy, and skilled evangelists can bring many
to the altar through a single 30-minute sermon. But that is only the first step
of many, and on its own does not fulfill the Great Commission at all. In fact,
calling someone to the altar often does nothing more than give the candidate a
false sense of security—they believe they are saved because they prayed a rote
prayer and signed a decision card. Billy Graham worked that out and eventually
started calling these "decisions" rather than "converts."
So while preaching the
Gospel is commanded and is vital, it is NOT discipleship and does not obey the
Great Commission. For instance, many young men mistakenly think that
inseminating a young girl makes them a father. It does not. A father provides
for, trains, and raises that child until it is an adult. So evangelization
without discipleship is like giving birth to a baby, and then dropping the
newborn on Main Street and pointing the infant to a range of restaurants.
The more modern, and popular, system of
assimilation is also not discipleship. This method involves inviting unbelievers
into a non-threatening, non-confrontational social environment, vaguely
associated with the church. These events could include enjoying coffee in the
foyer of the church, attending church social events, playing on the softball
team, joining (motorcycle) breakfast runs, etc. Some churches even invite
influential members of the public to serve in some capacity, including serving
on the board of the church. The idea is that the unbeliever will gradually be
assimilated into the life of the church to the point that they become full-blown
It outwardly appears that this method works. Such people
are quite successfully drawn into church membership, and learn to talk the right
language and do the right things, eventually looking just like a real member.
Many of these will even get baptized, take out church membership and rise to
leadership positions. In the same way children that grow up in Christian homes
become assimilated into the life of the church—they learn the right clichés,
when to stand and when to sit, how to blend in, how to say "God bless you" and
"I am praying for you"—but remain unregenerate. In the absence of having been
born again, the first step of discipleship is missing. Therefore anything they
say, do or learn is without any foundation and is simply learned behavior. There
is no difference between such people and the religious leaders of Jesus' day, of
whom He said: "… you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful
outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness."
(Matthew 23:27).
Rather than teach
disciples to become like Jesus, these "joiners" teach the church to become like
the world.
Popular in more
cultic groups, heavy shepherding (aka Shepherding) is seen by its
proponents as the ultimate form of discipleship. In this system disciples are
manipulated, controlled by fear, threatened, and coerced into becoming clones of
the leaders. These leaders will make every decision for their minions, even
control their thought processes, values and minutest discussions. Once again,
the system seems to work as the "disciples" act and speak exactly as they have
been taught. These groups are often marked by such conformity to the standard
that they all dress the same, speak the same and think the same. This is sold as
"unity" but it is not. This "unity" is achieved through the subjugation of the
will and the mind of the individual to that of the leader(s). True unity comes
about as the individuals are submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ rather than to
Louw and Nida confirm: "In rendering μαθητεύω in Mt 28:19
and similar contexts, it is important to avoid the implication of duress or
force, that is to say, one should not translate 'force them to be my disciples'
or 'compel them to be my disciples.'"[1]
Heavy shepherding is most certainly not discipleship
since it fails in the primary purpose of discipleship—to make disciples of
Jesus Christ. Followers of these groups are disciples of men who have
usurped the role of Christ in the heart and mind of the believer.
The words
mentoring and discipleship sound like they mean the same thing, but
they do not. A mentor is actually the name of a man who had occult abilities who
lived hundreds of years ago (see
HERE). In the occult world, a mentor became known as someone who was
training an "adept" to have spiritual gifts that they could use to perform
occult rituals. Promise Keepers (among others) brought the word mentor
into the evangelical world and soon mentoring replaced discipleship in many
Interestingly, the term mentoring conveys the idea of
shadowing or mimicking someone else's behavior. It has to do with actions and
activities that in psychology are known as "behavior modeling." But it isn't
about cognitive learning, which is a key component of discipleship (studying the
Bible and Christ together). So mentoring becomes a substitute for actually
delving into the Word and learning obedience to Christ. Rather it is some sort
of trying to act like a leader. Hence the proliferation of popular books such as
Lead Like Jesus, etc.
On the other extreme
are those who believe that by simply preaching the Bible on Sundays that people
will miraculously be changed into disciples by hearing the Word. This method is
partially based on the King James translation of Matthew 28:19 as "Go
therefore and teach…"
Many of these teachers do
not even draw an application from the text for fear of "doing the work of the
Holy Spirit." This is a very comfortable way of doing ministry. The preacher
simply prepares and delivers the Bible study and then retreats into his office
in preparation for the next lecture. Members of such churches are marked by a
proliferation of head knowledge about the Bible while simultaneously lacking in
humility and most other characteristics of Jesus Christ.
Obviously, we do believe in the role of the
Scriptures, and that the Word is indeed transformative. We must diligently teach
the Bible, but this in itself does not constitute discipleship. David was very
willing to say "Amen" to Nathan's sermon about injustice, but failed to
understand the message until the prophet pointed to him and said: "You are
the man" (2Samuel 12:7).
Many bigger, and not
so big, churches have some form of small group meetings under different names:
cell groups, accountability groups, men's groups, beer drinkers groups, cigar
smokers groups, house churches[2],
etc. The idea of small groups is to supplement any formal preaching on Sundays
with small groups which do the work of "discipling" the individuals in these
small groups. Mostly these touchy-feely groups study anything but the Bible, and
are more about getting in touch with one another's feelings than discipling.
Rather than teach people to follow the Lord Jesus, they encourage people to
celebrate their differences, and to feel good and accepted no matter how sinful,
rebellious, or unbiblical their behavior.
Very few members of these
groups have ever been discipled themselves and thus they are not in a position
to disciple others. Group consensus does not make the truth and is a recipe for
rebellion against God's Word. Small groups can have value if they are led by
godly and gifted shepherds, but this is not often the case.
Counseling and Psychology
Others feel the need to get more
personally involved with the individual, and do this on the basis of counseling
and therapy. These sessions often contain a few misquoted Scriptures used to
mask the true roots of the therapy. There are many variations on the same
theme when it comes to counseling. There are many techniques and ideas culled
from psychology, marketing, personal experience, group dynamics, behavior
modeling, the human potential movement, holistic health, the New Age, etc.
Spiritual self-help books containing new techniques proliferate, and include
such mumbo-jumbo as inner healing, deliverance, positive confession, Reiki,
Yoga, meditation and contemplation, guided imagery, confessing the sins of one's
ancestors, spiritual "gift" inventories and assessments, etc. All of this
serves to assist the counselee to become self-absorbed and needy, which is
hardly a path to spiritual maturity. Yet, these immature people are often put in
positions of ministry and leadership, especially in works-based initiatives
filled with heavy requirements on the time of the individual.
These sessions are usually presided over by one of the
pastors of the church, or by a specialist either from within or without the
church, or by a graduate from an earlier class. Irrespective of the method, the
philosophy remains fairly constant—to encourage the individual to accept his/her
own "idiosyncrasies" (politically correct lingo for sinful behavior). In other
words, the counseling is palliative, aimed at relieving symptoms without
evidence of the transformation of the inner man through repentance and
regeneration. The focus of every one of these methodologies is the individual
and is never Christ. The standard of becoming like Christ is often rejected as
too legalistic and a threat to the individual's identity and self-expression.
This is of course the antithesis of the whole purpose of discipleship, which is
to help people become conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28). The
purpose of true discipleship is not to get to know self better but to
know Him better.
Elements of Truth
Many of the techniques outlined above
encompass elements of true discipleship, yet fail dismally in producing true
disciples—mainly because they contain more human than spiritual wisdom and have
not been based on a Biblical concept of discipleship. There is room for
preaching on Sundays, small groups, individual counseling and so forth. But none
of these individual components, on their own, constitute true discipling. But an
even bigger problem is that each of these systems is based on a wrong premise,
and seeks and produces an outcome that is in conflict with that of Scripture.
Discipleship and True Discipleship
If we discount all the above methods
that do not constitute biblical discipleship, and add to that the many churches
that offer no alternative, it becomes evident that biblical discipleship is
absent in the vast majority of churches today. This is true of big and small
churches alike.
In addition, instead of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the majority of churches in the West are preaching a
false Gospel of self. Thus without the preaching of the real Gospel and without
discipleship, it is no wonder the church is adrift on a sea of humanism.
"… when the Son of Man comes, will He
really find faith on the earth?"
(Luke 18:8)
To be continued…


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We are joining in for Day 7 and behind our interactive activity window is the simple fun tradition of drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows together, around the Christmas tree!
We made our drinks, sprinkled in some mini marshmallows and found some stories about Christmas to read together while we drank it.
The girls had their jammies on ready for bed and it was a special time creating memories which I think will need to repeated often this month!


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
447 N. Catherine Avenue | La Grange Park, IL 60526 | Phone: (708) 354-0225
Show All Answers
Tree branches will be picked up in the fall on the first Monday of each month for one week. The Village will also pick up branches following a severe storm. Fallen branches should be moved to the curb no later than 48 hours after the storm. If branches have not been picked up please notify Public Works at 708-352-2922 no later than one week following a storm event.
Leaves will be removed in late October through the first week of December. Village e-briefs and Rose Clippings will provide a removal schedule by the week. Only leaves should be raked to the street curb at the start of each week for your section. Other landscaping materials such as plants, grass, branches or pumpkins should not be raked into the street. Please exercise caution during this time by not parking automobiles on large leaf piles which can ignite from hot engines.
Mulch is available in the spring to residents outside the Public Works garage, located at 937 Barnsdale Road. If supply permits, residents can request a truckload of mulch (approximately 3 yards) by going to the online request form.
Hydrants are flushed each spring testing water flow and pressure. Harmless water discoloration may occur during the testing process. Run water from a fixture located in the lowest level of your home to alleviate discoloration. Avoid doing laundry or using the dishwasher until the water is clear.
Residential streetlights are maintained by ComEd and can be reported online. For lights maintained by the Village, 31st street and La Grange road, please go to the Village website online request system.
When snow begins, residents should make every effort to remove parked cars from the streets. Clear streets allow the Village staff to salt and later plow when the snow accumulates beyond 2 inches. It is illegal to park on any street for 12 hours after a snow fall of four inches or more.
There are code restrictions for water sprinkling throughout the Village. A $50 fine may be imposed for each occurrence of code infraction. View the ordinance. From May 15 through September 15, it shall be unlawful for any person to sprinkle or water lawns within the corporate limits of the village except in accordance with the following guidelines:
No, the Village will replace an existing sidewalk square with a vertical displacement trip hazard of 1 inch or more at no cost to the resident. Replacement is done in the fall and requests made after commencement of work will be placed on the list for replacement the next season.
Public Works can come out and inspect any damaged curb upon request. Generally curb replacement would be done, if needed, in conjunction with road paving projects.
Parkway trees are trimmed every five years by a Village hired contractor.
Tree replacement program allows residents to replace parkway trees and share the cost with the Village. New trees are planted in the spring and fall of each year. The Village website has an online request system which can be completed in February for spring and in September for fall tree planting. Residents are prohibited from planting their own tree in the parkway, permission is needed for the specific location and species.
The tree has been inspected and will be placed on the removal list.
The Village maintains and operates the main sewer and water services throughout the Village. All sewer connections from a private residence or business to and including the connection point are the responsibility of the resident. Water service lines are maintained by the homeowner after the B-box.
Public Works is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to repair water main breaks. During business hours contact Public Works at 708-352-2992 or after hours call the non-emergency Police Department at 708-352-2151.
Public Works will respond by checking the main sewer line for blockages, if none are located the homeowner should contact a licensed plumber to investigate their property connections. Contact Public Works during business hours at 708-352-2922 or after hours call the non-emergency Police Department at 708-352-2151.


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TORONTO – Brian McCann hit two home runs, including a solo shot in the 10th inning that lifted the Atlanta Braves over the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6 on Tuesday.
McCann and rookie Evan Gattis hit back-to-back homers off Ramon Ortiz in the sixth, giving the Braves a 6-5 lead. The Blue Jays tied it on J.P. Arencibia's RBI double in the seventh.
McCann connected for a leadoff drive in the 10th against Thad Weber (0-1) for his sixth home run. It was McCann's first multihomer game of the season and the ninth of his career.
Cory Gearrin (2-1) pitched one inning for the win. Craig Kimbrel celebrated his 25th birthday by finishing for his 16th save in 19 chances.
Jordan Schafer also homered for the Braves.


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Bill Patry has also posted on the copyright side of the Designer Skin case. As my comment there didn't show up for some reason, and as it's actually a point of general interest that I drafted some thoughts on but omitted from my initial post, I thought I'd recreate the comment here. Patry argues that §113(c) is the obvious barrier to the copyright claims—"In the case of a work lawfully reproduced in useful articles that have been offered for sale or other distribution to the public, copyright does not include any right to prevent the making, distribution, or display of pictures or photographs of such articles in connection with advertisements or commentaries related to the distribution or display of such articles, or in connection with news reports."
But one reading, and perhaps the best one, is that §113(c) allows anyone to take their own pictures of a useful article for ads or news, but not to copy the copyright owner's pictures of same. I say "perhaps" because I think the text is ambiguous—the use of "making" instead of "reproduction" could be read to mean something other than "reproduction," i.e., something that required the copier to start out by making its own pictures or photographs, but "making" has to encompass some sort of reproduction or the exception is pretty useless, especially given the breadth of reproduction in the digital age. The restrictive reading of §113(c) imposes some costs on copiers/resellers/newspapers/etc., but not huge ones; on the other hand, it doesn't do much to benefit copyright owners with legitimate claims either, and does empower anticompetitive claims of the type at issue in the Designer Skin case. (The one thing it does is make clear that Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup cans aren't fair game just because the lithographs are pictures of useful articles—with Warhol, there is a separate "work" at issue that goes beyond the work reproduced in useful articles.)
Anyway, if the restrictive view of §113(c) is right, it's no defense to the claim that defendants copied plaintiff's own "electronic renderings," whatever that means. But the copyright at issue would then be that in the image, and the creative choices made to render the image, not in the creative elements of the label. And it seems quite possible that there isn't sufficient originality to justify a copyright in the "electronic renderings" apart from the creative choices shown in the label. From the very fact that the court couldn't tell whether defendant copied plaintiff's "electronic renderings," it's clear that no Warhol-level creativity (which was pretty low as a matter of artistry, if not as a matter of marketing) is at issue. Especially given the pro-competitive policy underlying §113(c), competitors should only be unable to use photos of useful articles when those photos evince some creativity that is of value independent of the portrayal of the useful article.
In the end, the issue makes good discussion fodder, but Patry and I agree that the court was still wrong on fair use.


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This is another story in the "Robbers In The Wrong Place, At The Wrong Time" category. This past Friday in Los Angeles, Luis Rosales walked into a Comfort Inn and police say he pulled a gun on the clerk.
What Rosales didn't know is that two mixed martial arts fighters were in town for the World Jiu-Jitsue No-Gi Championship in Long Beach.
A figure-four body lock and a rear naked choke later, Rosales was subdued and waiting for the cops.
Here's KABC's report:
And here's the security video released by the Los Angeles Police Department:
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Mayor De Blasio
Transcript: Mayor De Blasio Announces 10,000 New Pre-K Seats At Community-Based Early Childhood Centers In Every Borough
Maria Afonso, Parent: Good morning, everyone. My name is Maria . I'm a resident of Queens Village and my child attends UPK here. When I first moved to Queens after I got married, I was looking for a place to place my daughter. And this was the first place I saw and this is the place that she came to. When I first came in, it was very welcoming. From the first person who was at the door – they were nothing but friendly. And then, when she started the UPK last September, I've noticed a tremendous change in her – her growth academically, verbally. So, I believe that UPK is a very good program and we should have more programs like this. And, thanks to you now, we'll have the full-day UPK. It's very important for children to come to school and have – that's where they have their foundation, that's where they learn and be successful individuals as they grow up. So they really need to start from early on. I'm a teacher myself so I know the importance of this. They come to us, some of them with no knowledge whatsoever. Unfortunately, the circumstances at home for them are not the best ones, so we try to provide that to them. And with the full-day UPK, parents can go to work and know and have a sense of accomplishment and be secure that their children will be safe in here. So I want to thank you for granting these UPK programs. And, with this being said, Mayor de Blasio. Thank you so much.
Mayor Bill de Blasio: Habla español?
Afonso: Yes, and Portuguese.
Mayor: And Portuguese. You want to do español also? You want to do just a little bit en español for everyone? Same exact, just about your own personal –
Afonso: [speaks Spanish]
Mayor: Muchas gracias.
Afonso: De nada.
Mayor: Thank you so much. And you speak Portuguese too. I'm impressed.
Mayor: Well, Maria, thank you. Thank you for your own testimony as to what pre-K has meant for your child. And thank you for what you do as a teacher especially, which is something we honor so much. And as you said, some kids come in with advantages, some kids don't, but in pre-K and full-day pre-K, we're able to help so many kids get to grade level and get that strong start so they can move forward.
I want to thank our wonderful hosts, Bernice and Mike Budhoo, for this beautiful center that they have created. It's an extraordinary place. I have become a bit of an expert on pre-K programs, visiting so many, and you can tell immediately when you're in a special place. They've done something wonderful here as executive director and the site director. They also – Richard Buery and I were outside and we were very struck by the sign out front. If you haven't seen it, I would strongly urge you to take a look at it, because it says free universal pre-K – and then it says the words free repeatedly with many exclamation points. I think one of the things that parents value in a tough economy – a lot of people struggling – the word free, exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point, is a powerful point for parents. Because Lord knows there are not many things in life that are – and this is one of the things that is.
I also want to say it was so great to visit the classroom because, again, what a lot of us have seen in these pre-K settings that are high quality, you see these are 4-year-old kids, sometimes you see 3-year-old kids, sometimes you see 5-year-old kids – give-or-take 4 – and the engagement, the poise. I'm an adult they've never met before. I come in and as soon as I sit down, they start asking questions and they're right there with it and they're energized and they're focused and they're interacting together as a group, and it really – it jumpstarts a child's education. You can see it every single time – the energy that pre-K creates and the way it gets kids on the right path.
You're going to hear in a few moments from the man charged with making all of this happen, our Deputy Mayor Richard Buery. You're going to hear from someone who's been an extraordinary supporter of this effort – our Public Advocate Tish James, someone we're depending on to help us implement this in so many ways and get the words out to the community. You'll hear from State Senator James Sanders, Jr., a good friend of long standing. And you're going to hear from Jasmine Farrier, who's an old friend and a parent leader who is going to tell her story about today at this very location – what she did today – she gets some additional breaking news.
But let me just say something quick. The A to Z Center is an example of something that's just been finished in the last 24 hours. The PEP voted just last night to authorize 10,000 new full-day pre-K seats in community-based organizations like this. In fact, this site is one of the sites the seats for which were authorized last night. So the PEP took a major step forward for our children, authorizing 10,000 seats. This very location, the A to Z Center here in Queens, is now available to parents for application starting right this minute. It's happening as we speak. It's up online right now. So this program is moving forward before our eyes. And all over the city in every borough in a host of neighborhoods, you're seeing similar centers available right now to parents, available to be applied to literally today.
In many neighborhoods in this city, the numbers will be in the hundreds in terms of the available new seats. In Jamaica, there will be over 500 new seats. In Flushing, there will be over 500 new seats. So, in some of the neighborhoods that have the greatest need you're going to see extraordinary numbers of seats coming to fruition.
The A to Z Center will be going from 20 full-day seats to 74 full-day seats. So for a lot of parents in this community, this center is going to make the difference – a center that couldn't get enough of it before. Now they're going to be able to get it and that's a great step forward. Parents know their community organizations, they trust them, and they're hearing very clearly – we are going to guarantee the quality standard citywide. The same high standards held by the DOE will be applied in each and every community center. And, by the way, that means community centers like this, community educational facilities, it means parochial schools, yeshivas, charters, libraries – a whole host of community organizations that are sponsoring pre-K.
Parents more and more get it. I have to tell you, as you know, I've had the habit – more and more as the weather's gotten nicer – I've been riding the subway a lot more. By far the number one thing that New Yorkers come up to me and talk about is pre-K and particularly parents who have kids at that age or have kids who will be at the age in the next few years, come up to me and tell me how much it means to them and how it's something they've been waiting to get and they're looking forward to taking advantage of. They understand what it means for them personally. They understand the difference it will make in their child's life, what it's going to mean for their own lives, their schedule, their own personal economics, to have full-day pre-K for free. People get it. Now it's time for people – all over the city – parents all over the city – to know this is the next time to act.
I want to remind you that back on April 23, we had the first deadline for the public schools, the spaces in the public schools. Parents are about to get answers from those applications – give or take June 5. In the meantime, we're saying keep applying for the new options that become available. Make sure you get the best choice for your child. I want to emphasize – we want parents to enroll by June 26 for these community-based options – the last day of school, June 26.
Information is easy to get. Go online right now and see all the new options that are suddenly available – nyc.gov/prek – 3-1-1 has a full directory available. Texting p-r-e-k to 877877. We're getting the word out. Our elected official colleagues are getting the word out. It's something that we need to do quickly so parents get the information and they can get their applications in. It can make a difference in their lives. So that's what our focus is as an administration.
Before I call up – let's see my order – hold on – I think Jasmine's going to tell her story first because it's very pertinent and timely. But let me just say something quick in Spanish.
Cáda níño meréce recibír úna educación de calidád que lo prepáre pára el mejór futúro posíble.
Says it all – let's prepare our children for the best possible future – and pre-K does that.
With that, again, a friend who's been a parent leader in Queens. I've watched her activism on behalf of parents and seen it's had a great impact. A passionate advocate for her family and her fellow parents and someone who understands what pre-K means personally. I'm happy to introduce Jasmine Ferrier.
Jasmine Farrier, Parent: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Again, my name is Jasmine Ferrier and I am a local PTA vice president in one of our District 29 schools. I have a child, Jaden, who is 11. My daughter Savannah is 8. And my daughter London is 3, turning 4 in November. And I recently registered London at our – at my children's elementary school for universal pre-K. However, it's a half-day. And I found out just yesterday that A to Z had slots available for full-day. So I rushed over immediately because, as the other parents said here, full-day is essential in early childhood development. And I really want to urge all parents who do not know about their local community-based organizations that programs like A to Z are available thanks to our mayor and our deputy mayor. Thank you so much for that.
Please, please, please, please, I urge you. It is extremely important for you to utilize these programs. I cannot tell you enough how much my little one is ready for this – she wants to. And because of this new program, she's able to do it for a full day. So thank you so much for what you've done. Thank you so much for what you've done. Thank you so much for what you've done. It's an amazing opportunity for our little ones, so please take advantage of it.
Mayor: Her name is London?
Farrier: London, yes.
Mayor: How long ago did you apply for the seat here for London?
Farrier: Yesterday.
Mayor: Alright. That's current.
Farrier: I applied yesterday. As soon as I heard that there were available seats for full-day, I rushed right over and the process was absolutely seamless. One, two, three – I filled out some paperwork and I was done.
Mayor: Excellent. Thank you.
Mayor: We have a witness. Again, the man who is responsible for moving this huge machinery to make pre-K happen – and it's going beautifully – I want to thank him for his extraordinary efforts, our Deputy Mayor Richard Buery.
Deputy Mayor Richard Buery, Strategic Policy Initiatives: I feel like I shouldn't say anything. You just said – you made the case so eloquently I think I should say thank you, drop the mic, walk away.
I just want to say, first of all, good afternoon. When I walked into that classroom with the mayor, I have to say, you felt joy in that classroom. You know, Carmen Fariña often talked about bringing the joy to education – and you felt the joy of learning, the joy of friendship and relationships. It was just a very powerful thing, so, anyway, thank you.
As the mayor said, we are bringing pre-K to New York City. Full-day. Free, free, free – exclamation point – universal pre-K to the communities that need it all around the city. We are announcing today just over 10,000 new seats just awarded by the PEP. More than 5,400 of those seats that we're announcing are in low-income communities around the city. And as someone who came to city government having run a non-profit organization, which itself operated over 10 community-based early childhood centers, I have to tell you that community-based early childhood centers are a tremendous resource, a tremendous opportunity, for many parents and many children.
And often cases, community-based early childhood centers will have resources like social services or extended day programming, or medical care, or dental care, that you often can't find in a public school. So for many families – and again, families have different choices, different needs, but for many families, I think what you'll find is that these community-based early childhood centers are a tremendous resource – and in some cases a better resource for families based on what they need.
The key to remember is that whether the center is – whether the pre-K program is in a public school, or whether it's in a community-based early childhood center, what you have to remember is that it is a quality, high-quality program. All of these programs are held to the same standards, the same level of oversight, the same standards around delivering a quality education aligned to educational standards. The inspections are just as rigorous. The screening process – because believe me, not everybody got as many seats as A to Z did, and not everybody got seats at all – a very rigorous screening process. You should know that these are high-quality programs.
But we're doing everything we can to make sure that families know what's there and how to get there. Every family knows the public school next door. You know where that is. You might not know where your nearest community-based early childhood center is. So part of our job is to help families understand that process.
We approach it in two ways. We have our broad campaign. We've already announced the $600,000 we're spending on radio and advertising to get the word out about what a [inaudible] is and how to apply, and what a community-based early childhood center is and how to apply. But also adding new tools online – which you spoke about – new tools online to make it easier for parents to go online and find information. You can dial 3-1-1, you can go to nyc.gov/prek, you can text U-P-K to 877877 – enter your zip code. And we're also – we're not relying on building it and they will come. There are staff at the Department of Education that are following up with families who call [inaudible] to really help families walk through the process, to make it as easily – as seamless as you just described. Parents understand how important this is. The message is to apply early, apply often. Everywhere that you think you might be a good spot. June 26 is our priority deadline. You want to get as many applications as possible to increase your chances of getting the center that you want to have. And again, it's the best investment we can make in our children, in our city and our economy. And just so proud to have my little part in helping to bring UPK to New York City. So thank you.
Mayor: And I want to pick up before I introduce the public advocate, very quick points. The deputy mayor said clearly, people have the right to apply, parents have the right to apply to multiple centers. That's absolutely fine. Apply to the public school if they had done that before April 23, but they can apply to as many centers as may be pertinent. For some parents it may be near their home. For some it may be near their work. They may want to apply to both. They get one seat in the end. And we obviously know the vast majority of those who apply will be served. But the important thing is there's no limitation on the variety of applications they can put in. We want to encourage parents to maximize their options for their children.
I also want to note, starting next week – Tuesday is June 3? Tuesday, June 3 the online application process goes live. So right now you can get the application online, you can get the information on the centers and the programs. Starting on Tuesday you can do an interactive application. You can literally apply online, it automatically takes effect. Also for those who like me might have come from a generation in which we are more comfortable mailing things than doing things online – I have to admit it – you can go online, nyc.gov/prek, get the application. If you prefer to mail it, you can mail it to pre-K, Tweed Courthouse, 52 Chambers St., New York, NY, 10007. Again pre-K, Tweed Courthouse, 52 Chambers St., New York, NY, 10007.
So as you've also heard previously, parent coordinators, principals are involved directly, working with parents to let them know their options. It's a full court press. There's going to be a lot of ways to apply, as [inaudible] indicated. People are going to find this process is being made easier all the time because we know how many challenges parents face. We want to lighten their burden on this front.
Now someone who I can tell you because we served in the council together and she stood up for children so many times. I was involved in a lot of fights because of the chairmanship I had, to protect quality childcare programs for folks in need of them. And those were often challenged in the budget process. And the most reliable ally always was Tish James. And she continues that extraordinary advocacy on behalf of children and families as our public advocate. We welcome Tish James.
Public Advocate Letitia James: I'm so happy to stand here this afternoon with Mayor de Blasio and Deputy Mayor Buery, Senator Sanders [inaudible] and all of the other parents and officials who are here today to announce an additional 10,000 full-day pre-kindergarten seats in community-based early childhood centers beginning this fall, community-based.
If you talk to educators and lifelong teachers, they will tell you that the benefits of pre-kindergarten are immeasurable and innumerable. And these benefits follow children for the rest of their life and their education, their adult life. Quality pre-K works. We know that early education provides a foundation that lasts a lifetime. And we also know unfortunately that comprehensive UPK programs are often not accessible to low-income residents throughout New York City. Too many low-income families, too many single mothers are left with the options to leave their young child with family members, with neighborhood sitters or in often underfunded or underground childcare centers.
Universal pre-K is a family issue. It's a working and middle class person's issue. It's a women's issue. Access to quality pre-K and head start programs eases economic stress on middle class parents and families who might otherwise pay thousands of dollars for such a program, which is why free, free, free.
Mayor: Exclamation point, exclamation point.
Public Advocate James: Exclamation point. It should be overemphasized.
And in case you didn't know, there are over 20,000 children in the homeless system who are more likely than their peers to experience acute and chronic health problems, developmental delays, clinical depression and anxiety and behavior problems. They miss an average of 31 days of school each term, perform lower on tests, and are more likely to repeat grades. They need a head start, and we need to provide them one. And universal pre-K does just that through maximizing the resources of community-based organizations who can best address the unique needs of local communities. And that is what is so important. A community-based organization that knows the community. Most of the individuals who are employed here live in the community. And so it's a safe haven for children. So we must continue to advance proposals and solutions to address the needs of our children, and that's why we must continue to focus on the needs of children in the City of New York. And it's an honorary privilege to be with Mayor Bill de Blasio because of all that he has done to advance the needs children in the city. I thank him.
Mayor: Thank you. Thank you very much.
Before I call up the senator, I just want to thank all of the parents who are standing with us today. I think each and every one of them can tell you their stories afterwards about what it takes to be a parent in this town. It takes a lot of work. And this option for parents, the full-day pre-K is a difference maker. I urge my friends who need it to spend time with them afterwards and hear about their own experiences. Now finally before we take questions, I'd like to call up a good friend, a dear friend and also someone who fought shoulder to shoulder on many, many good fights for children and families in the City Council when we served together, Senator James Sanders Jr.
State Senator James Sanders Jr.: Thank you Mr. Mayor. Thank you our public advocate, our deputy mayor, to my stakeholders, parents and committed activists. Often we speak of what's going to happen when we do public – when we do universal pre-K, but I'm going to take a second to speak about what is happening right now, what's going on, why we need to do this. Every study that comes in is saying that America is falling further and further behind in the education race. Countries that did not exist are beating us in the education race. That means that America will stop being the beacon of hope, this engine of growth that it is, and we will fall further and further behind. The youth of this city is changing. This city is becoming more diversified. We are now a majority minority city. And these youth especially have to be prepared for the next generation. No longer is the person that they're working with and having to compete the student sitting next to them. They're competing with students that they don't – they can't even see. They'll be in classrooms across the globe. If we don't do something about this problem, we have written these people, these youth off. And I'm glad that we have a mayor – I'm glad that we have such front-line advocates as you're seeing in back of me at this moment, who are saying that New York City must continue. We understand that this is the empire state. Let's also keep understanding that this is where Lady Liberty is. This is the place where whatever is going to happen to America, will happen here first. And this is why this effort that we're doing expanding – [inaudible] every night gets more and more impressive. You've come at a good time. You've come at a great time. I can tell you of other times. And this is why I'm here and will be here, because my friends, wherever America is going, New York City is going to get there first. And wherever New York City is going, our mayor is in the driver's seat. God bless you all, brother.
Mayor: Thank you so much. All right we welcome questions. First on topic, questions on topic. Yes?
Question: [inaudible] if you have a percentage or number of the CBOs that applied that weren't accepted, and if there was a pattern or a trend among the CBOs that you didn't accept of why they couldn't offer additional seats.
Mayor: So let me start and then you jump in. Just to start to say, we were very clear – and you remember when we had the first request we put out for space, we needed 21,000 seats, we got 29,000. There's been subsequent outreach since. So space keeps coming available in the public schools and in all the community-based organizations. It's a rolling process. But from the beginning we knew we had the ability to be choosy and we were going to be choosy. And we've had to have some hard conversations with organizations, to say you're just not at the quality level we need right now, or we don't feel good about the physical plant, and until you get that resolved, we're not going to include you right now. We'd love to include you in the future, but you have to get up to our quality standards first. And thank god we have the ability to do that because there's such a surplus of applications.
Deputy Mayor Buery: I mean the mayor basically answered the question. Sites might not be approved for a number of reasons. It might have to do with the physical plant, it might have to do with our confidence in their capacity. It may have to do with their experience. And as the mayor said, being not approved for a contract this year does not mean you would not be approved for a contract next year, it just means that we have some work to do to get on level. I wouldn't say there's any sort of specific pattern for how that distributes across the city. I mean sort of those basic reasons are the basic reasons folks wouldn't be approved. And I would say roughly – I wouldn't quote me on this, although it probably will because of reporters –
So it's just between us, right? We're all good friends. I would say roughly – you know 60 percent of programs probably get approved, but it varies. It varies in round – we can the actual number for you, but roughly 60 percent are approved.
Question: I just was wondering if you could spell out a little bit more about the neighborhoods in need that saw maybe the greatest increase in seats or something like that? I know you listed Jamaica and Flushing. And then my other question was just sort of logistically about applying. So now – you spoke about this earlier this week too, but parents can apply with one application? Because before they would have to individually apply to each CBO right?
Mayor: Correct, yep.
Question: But they still have to submit this application to the CBO?
Mayor: So just to clarify and jump in, you know again, the first round of action up to April 23 was the public schools, and that was a traditional application process people were pretty familiar with. The CBO process was never unified in the past so we had to jump in and create unity within it. We are going to increase that over time going into next year. But what we've done that makes it simple is a single source of information for all the sites in the city through the website, through 3-1-1, etcetera. And then a single application form that can be used for any site in the city. And you can apply now – as of this coming Tuesday – you can apply automatically online, you can send that application in to the DOE, Tweed Courthouse, and that will be sent to the appropriate local providers. You could walk in as [inaudible] did. You can take that generic application. You can use an application if the local center has their own, it's all equal. What we're trying to do is give people a lot of ways to get to a good outcome. So certainly if you get one of those universal applications, print it out online, get it from your parent coordinator at your school, whatever it is. That can work for any center.
Deputy Mayor Buery: Yeah so as the mayor said, the key is just to create as many different ways of doing this as possible. You can submit it centrally. You'll be able to submit it online directly next week. You can come into the center, which oftentimes is, you know, a great way to sort of see the center, experience it directly. You can do any of those things and you can apply in that way.
Just to talk about the borough by borough breakdown, again they're spread around the city. So there are over 2,000 seats added in Brooklyn, over 500 in Manhattan, 45,000 in Queens, almost 1,000 Staten Island. I know there are 2,000 in the Bronx.
Mayor: [Inaudible]
Deputy Mayor Buery: From last night, that's from last night. And certainly if you want more information about deeper neighborhood breakdowns, we can present that to you afterwards.
Mayor: But just to give you a sense of the magnitude, that's why we use these two examples. For Jamaica and for Flushing, over 500 new seats each, to give you a sense of the magnitude. Grace?
Question: Those – the 10,000 seats that were approved last night, are all of those at CBOs who previously did not contract with the city [Inaudible]
Deputy Mayor Buery: Seventy percent of providers whose contracts were approved last night already are universal pre-K, already have experience providing pre-K.
Question: [Inaudible] new [inaudible]
Deputy Mayor Buery: I should say being new doesn't mean that you're new to early childhood education, it means that you're new to universal pre-K contracts with the DOE.
Question: [Inaudible] additional CBOs are in that? How many sort of new CBOs [inaudible]
Deputy Mayor Buery: There are now – let me practice my math. There are 204, I think, providers –
Mayor: Don't say 'among us' this time.
Deputy Mayor Buery: Among us friends, don't quote me on my math.
As I said, I'm new to government. There are 204 contracts, 70 providers, 70 percent of them.
Question: [Inaudible] new [inaudible] that previously weren't in a UPK program, are they adding – are they [inaudible] mix of students, some of whom are paying tuition [inaudible]
Deputy Mayor Buery: I couldn't generalize. So different institutions, different providers may have different [inaudible]
Mayor: But I want to just speak to the core of the question. So 70 percent already were doing work with – but remember a lot of that was half-day or a lot of that was – and this is a great example, here is a place that had 20 full-day seats, now going to 74 full-day seats. Very important history to remember, there was a long period – and James and Tish can back me up on this – a long period of disinvestment in community-based childcare, in after-school, so – and a lot of policies of the previous administration actually sadly opened up a lot of space in community-based organizations because they were no longer funded to do child-focused activities.
Part of what we have found is now that there is funding available, a number of community-based centers that had the capacity, had the expertise, just didn't have funding and had classrooms going wanting or going to some lesser use, are now turning those classrooms around and putting them online for full-day pre-K.
Question: How frequently will these CBOs be recertified?
Mayor: Excellent. They'll be monitored constantly, but recertified, why don't you give us that –
Deputy Mayor Buery: I don't know remember – I don't know the details of the process, we can get back to you. But what I would is that part of the way we supervise and support these programs, is that the Department of Education staff are constantly engaged with the staff, as are Department of Health and Mental Hygiene staff. So one of the things that happens under the state is that there's a minimum of two on-site visits every year, and in many cases programs will receive many more visits. And it really depends on what that program needs in terms of support and oversight. But we've really worked hard to make sure that we have the capacity to provide a high level of quality control and supervision so that these programs are delivering the services that we know that children deserve and need to be able to be successful moving forward.
Question: [Inaudible]
Deputy Mayor Buery: They can be surprised visits, they can be planned visits. We've really worked hard to make sure that we here in New York City are creating a quality infrastructure to ensure, ensure that we're delivering services. It's not just about numbers, it's about high-quality, high-quality, high-quality with three exclamation points, Just like free. High-quality early childhood centers. And our job is to make sure that those centers are operating at high quality. That's why not everybody's approved. That's why we have – we're increasing the Department of Education's capacity to provide support –free, high-quality, full-day.
Mayor: And on that point about support. So there's more DOE personnel doing the inspections and doing the quality control. And remember, there's an ongoing training element here too. And there's more Department of Health personnel who have been devoted to this. So this is an extraordinarily large effort, and we have resourced it accordingly to guarantee the quality control, by putting a lot of personnel into quality control.
Question: [Inaudible]
Mayor: I'll jump in and tell me if you want to add. This is one of the biggest challenges in this process because first of all, its New York City so all space is at a premium. But second, the fact is that some neighborhoods – and we know where they are – you know, central Queens, obviously, is the number one example. But it's true in parts of Manhattan, particularly lower Manhattan, it's true in parts of Staten Island. There's areas where we experienced overcrowding in general in our schools. If you're experiencing overcrowding already it means you're maximizing your public school buildings, which puts pressure if you're trying to create pre-K programs to find additional space. What we've found in some instances – a lot of instances thank God – is there are good community-based options nearby.
Now, does it mean, in your school zone? No, not always. You know, school zone meaning the immediate public school in your neighborhood. No, it may be a zone or two over. It may be a mile away, it may be a mile and a half away. It's not always the perfect geographical match. But what I have heard from a lot of parents, emphatically, and I bet Jasmine and the other parents could affirm this fact is, you know parents will go to some trouble to get quality education for their kids, and oh by the way, if it's free, they'll go to even more trouble. So we think in some of the – take central Queens, which is really a challenge, is we think if parents see that the best location for their child is a mile or two away, it wouldn't be their ideal, but it's going to work for them in many cases anyway because of the extraordinary opportunity.
We also know that year one is different than year two. And remember you're talking about a 150 percent increase in the number of full-day seats. So, again, by definition, clear majority of those who apply are going to get a full-day seat for this September. Some will not until we fully ramp up over 70,000 seats. In that ramp up, were going to try and address some of the biggest gaps between supply and demand. And a place like central Queens, for example, would stand to benefit in the course of the next year as we create additional locations. That's going to be in some cases, the DOE literally creating a pre-K center in a building that's in some other use right now, creating something that does not exist today, but will exist for the following September. Yeah?
Question: I have a question, so let's say that the public school that has a waitlist of kids and there are nearby CBOs, but perhaps those parents don't know about them or – you know, I don't know what. But is there going to be a way that the DOE can use those waitlists and contact those parents and encourage them to[inaudible]
Mayor: That's where the parent coordinators are going to – first of all, there's going to be a much larger outreach effort that's literally going to identify any parent who's interested and help them navigate, facilitate enrollment, working them through the process, letting them know the options. That's going to be done centrally from the DOE But secondly, part of why we've deputized the parents coordinators in all schools at all levels – not just elementary schools, but intermediate schools, junior high schools and high schools. It's because if you know how every neighborhood works in this city, parent coordinators have a great relationships with a host of parents , who then talk to a lot of other parents and neighbors. And so the parent coordinators are going to play a particularly important role of getting the word out and talking to parents, literally in advance of this upcoming day when they're going to receive the acceptances or be told that there is not yet a seat for them in a public school building. Parent coordinators have been instructed to get in contact immediately with any parent that didn't get what they wanted and immediately walk them through the next options.
So we think that hands-on impact is going to make a big difference. And again, in any language the parent speaks because we have translation available. In most school buildings in the city, a number of languages are spoken already between teachers and staff. But we also have available translators, via telephone, that we can get involved for any parent who needs that.
Question: As far as the physical plants at these CBOs, are they all ready to go, or is this going to be a summer where some of them are doing renovations, getting inspected by the health department, fire department. Is there a lot of work that still needs to be done, preparing them for September?
Mayor: So I'm going to give the layman's answer and you can give a more expert answer. A lot of them are ready to go because they're already contracting with us and they're already been at the level – or as I mentioned, as James and Tish and I experienced, a lot of them were physically, previously agreed – approved by the city, running programs, they've been defunded. You heard in the course of last year how many fewer child care centers, it was 10,000 child care seats lost over the last five years, 30,000 after-school seats lost over the last 5-6 years. All that space was already appropriate and now is ready to go. Some, I'm sure, have work to do.
Deputy Mayor Buery: So a few things. One of the things that's important to remember is that one of the criterion for being approved and being recommended for contract, is our confidence that you can come up online in September. So one of the reasons why a program might not be approved is not that they're not a good provider, but that we looked and their space and said okay, you can't get this space ready in the next few months. So that's the first thing. The second thing – and absolutely right – there are a number of providers who need to be licensed, who need some minor work done. And I think the big difference this year that separates us from previous years is, rather than putting the entire onus on the provider, they chase us down, they chase down the Department of Health, they chase down the fire department. We really have an unprecedented effort to coordinate work on end, to share information on our end so that we're actually coordinating the work between the Department of Buildings, the fire department, the Department of Health, any other resources and agency might provide – might need to make sure that all those programs are moving forward. And it's really been remarkable how the fire department, the Department of Health have really rallied together to make sure this works. And I know the mayors really proud how everyone – you know when he says UPK is his priority, believe me, every commissioner hears that. I hear it and understand it.. And so everyone is really working together to make sure that we are up and running and ready to go by September.
Mayor: An example of that is I had a conversation with incoming Fire Commissioner Dan Nigro the other day, and before I could even finish the sentence, he said, I know you need us to focus on pre-K and doing all the inspections. So, he knows coming in the door that's something he has to continue, the incredible work that the fire department is doing on it. Everyone's gotten the message on how important it is. Continuing on topic, yes.
Question: [Inaudible]
Mayor: Let's get you facts on that. As you know, there's been a great response from the yeshiva community, and we feel very, very enthusiastic about it, but we'll get you the details. This just literally happened in the last days. On topic, last call, looking around. Yes?
Question: {Inaudible] Fall under ACS, correct? So one, does the DOE have any programmatic oversight over these seats? And how are you making sure that there's [Inaudible]
Mayor: DOE oversight.
Question: Can parents apply with the same form to those – to the ACS seats too? Or are different requirements –
Mayor: A lot of parents are already [inaudible]
Deputy Mayor Buery: So, let me get back to the question of how the ACS seats work. It's a good question, but let me get back to you on that question. But yes, the main message is that those ACS [inaudible] pre-kindergarten seats are subject to the same standards, the same quality, the same oversight. Any UPK classroom you go to will be a high-quality classroom led by trained teachers. And so we're making sure in our goal that in each of those classrooms is a quality classroom supporting young people's education and development.
Mayor de Blasio: But yeah, the main message is that those ACS users – the kindergarten states are subject to the same standards, the same quality, the same oversight. Any UPK classroom you go to will be a high-quality classroom led by trained teachers, and so we're making sure [inaudible] in each of those classrooms is a quality classroom supporting young people's education and development. But we'll have to get back to you on the application process. Let's try some [inaudible]
Mayor: Let's try some exciting off topic.
Question: Mayor, you just put out a release that you're basically going to be overhauling the overhaul of the 9-1-1 system?
Mayor: We're not overhauling the overhaul, no – I think that's – you're editorializing. We're adding to it.
Question: Adding to it [inaudible]
Mayor: Meaning with the first phase – we've looked at this more and more, and the more we see, the more we want to dig deeper. The first piece was the pure technology. Let me reiterate the fact that we have an existing 9-1-1 system that is functioning today and functioning well. There has been for a long time a goal of updating that technologically, creating more redundancy if there was ever a need in an emergency, integrating the different pieces of the equation better. That contract, as we looked at it, we found a contract that was not working, was costing a huge amount of money, huge costs overruns, and not an immediate solution in sight. We suspended that contract, we suspended the work, 60 day review. You're going to hear that answer.
Now what we've said today is we are additionally looking at – not that piece – the day-to-day operations of the existing 9-1-1 system with the existing technology. It will be a unified effort led by our operations division, working with the police commissioner, working with the fire commissioner, to review ongoing day-to-day policies, procedures, supervision, training, the whole nine-yards, so we can ensure that the existing system works as well as possible.
Question: [Inaudible]
Mayor: The existing system, yes.
Question: And are there any concerns as we move into the summer and, you know, there's an uptick – there's usually an uptick in emergency calls. Like– is the process going to remain the same while this is being reviewed?
Mayor: Yeah, let's be clear – I'm glad you asked it that way. I would be concerned if we weren't reviewing it much more than if we are reviewing it. Because what we're saying is that we're putting the eyes of the senior leadership of the administration – led by our first deputy mayor, Tony Shorris – on the situation, because we want to make sure. We know for sure that the big vision for technological change has not been working – has not been working on schedule. We're going to rework all of that. Which means, obviously, you've got to make sure your existing system is good for the foreseeable future until you can come up with a long-term solution. And we want a whole evaluation to make sure that everything can be done as well as possible. We saw, in the situation in the Rockaways, things were not handled as well as possible. We want to look at – see what we can learn from that, what we can do differently.
So there is absolute unity – first deputy mayor, the director of operations, the fire commissioner, the police commissioner are going to do that review together. And anything they find that can be improved upon in the here and now – that's our focus. The system functions, it functions well, it functions in the vast majority – in a huge – I mean look at the – the volume is incredible. Ten million calls last year. The vast, vast majority are handled very well. But we want to keep working to do even better.
Question: [Inaudible] 9-1-1 operator will still get – will still be fielding the call
Mayor: Same system.
Question: [Inaudible]
Mayor: Same system, but – so as we speak, same exact system, full review of all the operations, the procedures, the training, the supervision, etcetera. Now at the end of that, we may come out and say, 'We're going to make some revisions to the here and now while we work on the bigger technological progress.' But, again, I like your question because it says what's – what can the public rely on more? The public can rely on more when the mayor, first deputy mayor, director of operations, fire commissioner, police commissioner are all saying, all eyes on this, we need it to be as good as any human operation can possibly be.
Question: Can you talk about your arrangement with your parks commissioner where he's going to be traveling to Cambridge every Friday in the fall to teach a course at Harvard? And he also has some other speaking engagements and travel engagements.
Mayor: Let me say I want to answer that, but first quick want to thank Council Member Daneek Miller for being with us, and thank you for your support. You missed the part where we talked about how your district and surrounding areas are going to benefit particularly from this newest round of community-based organizations.
Council Member Daneek Miller: [Inaudible]
Mayor: Getting the word out. You're that kind of guy – and we thank you for that. We thank you for that outreach and your whole team, that's very much appreciated.
Commissioner Mitch Silver, as you know, is a very prominent figure in the American city planning community, has been for years, had a host of previous obligations. We worked out – I don't know all the details in particular, but I can give you the broad template. We worked out a plan to figure out what he had to finish up and what we would do going forward. But I can tell you for sure he is getting the job done, he is an extraordinarily effective person, and I know he can manage the different pieces on his plate.
Question: Just wondering if you're planning to repeal the ban on having ferrets as pets?
Mayor: Well I appreciate the question – thank you for asking. Unlike local cartoonists, you're asking the question which needs to be asked – have acted yet? No, we have not acted yet – the Department of Health proposed a change. There will be a lengthy process to determine if that will actually come to pass. I have not been briefed on their rationale, only very glancing, but I have not gotten the full briefing in terms of their rationale for the change, pros and cons, etcetera – we obviously want public input. That decision is months away. So all it means is that one agency has proposed a change.
Question: Mr. Mayor, do you believe that it's important for Democrats will take control of the State Senate and if so, are you planning to help them do that?
Mayor: Yes and yes.
Question: [Inaudible] put the brakes on the Olympic proposal so quickly?
Mayor: Yeah, I, we – look, I think everyone's noticed that we are running a very vigorous agenda here. And over the years I've talked to a lot of people in a lot of cities that took on these very big obligations, and gotten a sense of how we it can pull away from a lot of the other things you're trying to do.
I think we can also say recent Olympics have been very cautionary – cost overruns, a lot of unintended consequences, a lot of difficulty achieving what was required. New York City by definition is an incredibly sophisticated place. I know if we take on anything we'll get the job done, but I think what we can safely about the Olympics is there's a lot of hidden costs, a lot of disruption, and – bluntly – a lot of the parts of the world that are most desirous of having the Olympics are those that are either trying to brand themselves and get known – or how do I say this gently – rebrand themselves. Not that President Putin needed to rebrand himself, for example. You know, so we feel great about New York City's reputation in the world right now. We literally don't think functionally we could be any more popular and respected in the world. The tourism numbers at an all-time high, continue climbing. We're going to have full capacity


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Cops: Hogan Was Drinking Before Crash
Cops have concluded Nick Hogan was drinking the night he crashed his Supra, severely injuring his best friend.
Clearwater PD today released details of their investigation into the August 26 crash. In addition to being arrested for reckless driving involving serious bodily injury, cops also cited Hogan for use of a motor vehicle in the commission of a felony, a person under the age of 21 operating a vehicle with a breath-alcohol level of .02 or higher and having an Illegal window tint.
Police also concluded that although Hogan and a second car were racing right before the crash, the driver of the second car was not a direct cause of the accident. That driver has also been ticketed for reckless driving.
Hogan was going 60 mph in a 40 mph zone when he lost control and hit a tree.


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The Life Sciences Greenhouse opened in August 2011. There is an extensive and varied plant collection with a wide range of diversity, utility and beauty. Among the most popular and diverse of our collections is the Brout Orchid Collection, home to about a thousand orchids of many species and hybrids. The orchid collection is in two rooms. There are three other rooms open to the public: a tropical room, a sub-tropical room, and a xeric room housing cacti and succulents.
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While continuing our primary educational and research missions, we are also open to the public to enjoy our 'living botanical museum'. Informal and group tours are available. Please contact us or check out our visitor information page. We are located on the 4th floor of the new Class of 1978 Life Sciences Building on the Campus of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. For further information please contact us at (603) 646-2382, or e-mail us email@example.com